Through this USAU-sanctioned league, your school-based team (Girls JV/Varsity and Open JV/Varsity) can compete with other area schools in weekday games & one-day “round-robin” events.

The 2017 season will begin in February 2017. There is a preseason meeting for coaches/team parents taking place in late January; if you are a team administrator and have not heard about the event please contact HS League Play Coordinator.

This year the State Tournament will be held match play style meaning qualified teams will be seeded and will play elimination games throughout the final weeks of the season (as opposed to singular EoS tournament). Teams must play 6 sanctioned games throughout the regular season to qualify for the State Tournament.

Overview:

School teams join the league on an annual basis.

Schools roster their teams through USAU. It doesn’t matter if your school recognizes your team or not.

AFDC hosts 2-4 round robins in the spring. This means AFDC reserves the fields (or helps you reserve fields), but participating teams share the field rental expenses. Last year, average per day field fees averaged less than $50 per team.

Participating schools may host individual league games as well. Schools must compete in 6 sanctioned games to qualify for the HS State Tournament which will be held in match play format this year (as opposed to one EoS tournament).

The Negatives:

Teams have to meet additional USAU requirements for sanctioned events. Ex. You must have a USAU chaperone for your team at all AFDC league events, and you will have some paper to push.

League participants (coaches, team reps) *have* to share responsibility for league oversight.

The Positives:

Teams can play outside of the league. These “outside” games will not be covered by league guidelines or insurance.

Special consideration for “solo enthusiasts” – students who don’t have enough players at their own school. We will allow combo teams to participate in the league if they have met USAU requirements. We will consider these teams on a case-by-case basis. These teams must have USAU background-checked chaperones, and you must have an approved Ultimate coach.

Opportunities for student community service hours.

By registering with USAU and competing in the HS State Tournament team members are automatically qualified to tryout for the YCC teams that travel in the summer.

League participants (coaches, team reps) *get* to share responsibility for league oversight.

There are no league fees planned at this time. If you are willing to help run the individual events, you can benefit from the league discounts. Most importantly – MORE PLAYING OPPORTUNITIES!!

FAQs:

Q: How much is this league going to cost my players?

Answer: You will pay your share of the field expenses and the registration fees charged by USAU (~$30 per player competing in State Championship; ~$16 per player on teams not competing in State Championship), that’s all.

Q: What do you mean that we have to share “league oversight”?

Answer: As league participants, the individual team adults have to share in the tasks of running the weekday games. Those tasks include developing the event schedules, ensuring all of your team is properly rostered, ensuring that the games start & complete on time, and designating one adult at each event to serve as our medical personnel.

Q: What registration is required of me as a coach?

Answer: If you are planning on coaching a team in this league you must be a current USAU Coach member. The only requirement is that you pass a background check; further information about registering as a coach can be found on the USAU website.

Q: If I’m coaching a JV team will games against Varsity teams count towards the 6 game eligibility requirement for States?

Answer: No. You must compete against teams from your own division for it to count towards 6 game requirement. You may play teams from other divisions if you’d like but it won’t count towards your games required.

Q: GSP is too far for my players. Can we reserve fields closer to us?

Answer: Yes, you locate the fields, identify the leasing authority, determine the rental fees, & reserve the fields for the league. Participating teams will have the league insurance certificate to use in procuring fields.

Q: Many of my players are new & will not want to pay for full USAU memberships. Is there a discount?

Answer: If a player doesn’t expect to play in any other AFDC/USAU events in 2017, that player can by a single affiliate or affiliate intro membership to cover all of his league games. Players who only want to play in HS Terminus can pay the affiliate fee to cover Terminus. Youth who want to play in the State Championship & YCC series must have a full USAU membership; a player may upgrade from an affiliate fee to a full membership at any time.

Q: Some of my classmates & I would like to play and get better, but we don’t have enough players to form a team at our school. Is there anyway that we can participate in the league events?

Answer: Yes, contact us and we will try to combine your group with others in a similar situation. As long as you meet the league requirements as a group, you can participate. However, USAU has taken authority over approving combined teams and will have the final say about whether your proposed group is States eligible.